Malibu Man Honored As "Courageous Citizen"

Two men who called 911 to notify authorities about a teenage girl’s kidnapping were among five people honored today as “courageous citizens” by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Michael Miller, 67, of Malibu, stood in front of a car on June 12, 2012, to try to prevent the girl and her abductor from leaving a Malibu gas station, where Miller had seen the teen crying and signaling that she needed help. He also called 911.

The girl’s abductor backed out of the station and drove away, prompting Joseph Evans, 53, of Malibu, to try to follow the car. He lost sight of the car for a time, but eventually spotted the vehicle in a turnout and called 911.

The assailant -- who jumped into the girl’s car while she was stopped at a traffic light and sexually assaulted her as he drove the vehicle around Malibu -- was convicted of kidnapping to commit rape, kidnapping for carjacking, child molesting, escape from arrest and vandalism, and was sentenced to 27 years to life in state prison.

Also honored were:

-- Javiera Guarda, 25, and Suga Brown-Faal, 42, both of Los Angeles, who helped authorities identify a man who abused his 4-month-old pit bull.

Guarda first called police Dec. 19, 2013, after seeing the man lift the dog over his head and slam it to the ground, then called police again about two weeks later after seeing the man dragging the puppy.

Brown-Faal used her cell phone to take photos and video of the puppy being dragged and provided them to police when officers arrived to arrest the man, who eventually pleaded no contest to two counts of animal abuse and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

-- Samuel Gibson, 30, of Los Angeles, who came to the aid of a woman who was stabbed six times by an ex-boyfriend on March 12, 2009, in the Florence area. Authorities said he confronted the woman’s assailant, ignored the man’s threats that he would be attacked if he didn’t leave, and took the woman to a nearby apartment, where they waited for police. The assailant was later convicted of aggravated mayhem, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and criminal threats.

“Our community is a safer place because these local heroes refused to look the other way when others needed help,” said District Attorney Jackie Lacey. “The courage displayed by each of these honorees is nothing short of remarkable.”

---City News Service

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